[mwwilson]

It'll be interesting to see where things end up in 15-30 years.

One of the most attractive parts of 'digital nomadism' to me is that it doesn't require one to be a nomad. I could just as easily freelance from the small Kansas town I grew up in as from a van somewhere in SF.

From the perspective of having children and wanting them to experience actual physical community I see the trend towards remote work and freelancing as a boon. Instead of having to live in suburbia and commute to work everyday there's actually a viable path to living in a small community where cost of living is low and getting to actually spend time with my family. My kids can experience the independence of riding their bikes to the playground, I can be a part of their education and model something other than disappearing for 10 hours at time M-F and being tired all weekend.

Of course the trend could continue towards the majority moving as close to their regional hub as possible and spending their every waking moment glued to a screen, but I suspect that there will be at least a large minority of us who choose to embrace the possibilities that open up when one is not tied to a metropolis for work. Home ownership and physical community being two of those possibilities.